Hurricane Harvey: Where To Donate And How To Avoid Getting Scammed

HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 28: People make their way out of a flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water, remnants of Hurricane Harvey, on August 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday...

On Friday, Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the Texas coastline. The unrelenting rain has yet to cease and thousands of people remain in shelters or in desperate need of help as the flood waters continue to rise and envelop homes in the Lone Star State.

What will come after the storm finally stops is a long, slow and expensive process to rebuild homes, communities and entire cities from the ground up. And that means donations will be greatly needed.

But knowing where to give your donation dollars is more confusing than you may think. Moreover, tragedies like Hurricane Harvey tend to bring out both the best and worst in humanity.

“Low-life cyber scum are exploiting this disaster using fake social media accounts,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a statement warning citizens of scammers attempting to profit off the victims of Harvey. "When a natural disaster strikes, many of us ask, how can we help? Giving is good, but it’s important to donate to a legitimate charity that has experience helping victims quickly.”

To help you make the right decision on where to send your money, Forbes reached out to Sara Nason, Communications Manager at Charity Navigator, for her advice on what to look for when donating either your time or your money to a cause.

“If you're looking for a charity working to support those affected by Hurricane Harvey or any other major disaster, Charity Navigator posts a Hot Topic on our website featuring highly-rated charities that are known to be working in the community,” Nason said when asked where people should start their giving search.

Nason explained that visitors to the site can even search a cause type, such as food services or animal rescues, to help refine their search.

Charity Navigator, Nason said, can also help people weed out scammers as the site receives Form 990s directly from the IRS about all charities, meaning it knows which ones are real, fake and who is giving where.